I had a wonderful, carefree childhood growing up on the farm! We could always see the sunrises and sunsets, and try to locate the star constellations on clear starry nights! I grew up with one sister one year younger. I don’t ever remember being bored. We created our own fun, playing pioneer down by the dredge ditch; making pretend outdoor play houses in the grove, dragging boards, crates and what we could rummage out of the junk pile; and even making floats out of cardboard boxes and crepe paper for our make believe parades, using our dolls as parade queens! My dad milked those gentle brown Swiss cows. Those early morning chores always called for hearty breakfast! No skipping breakfasts at the Taylor home! In my recipe file I found this hearty recipe for Farmer’s Strata, which I thought fitting for this week’s recipe. I hope you enjoy it! Plan ahead - this needs to be refrigerated overnight before baking.Farmer’s Strata: 1 lb bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 2 cups chopped fully cooked ham 1 small onion, chopped 10 slices white bread cubed 1 cup cubed cooked potatoes 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese 8 eggs 3 cups milk 1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce 1 tsp ground mustard salt and pepper to taste Cook bacon ‘til crisp; add ham and onion, cook and stir until onion is tender. Drain. In greased 9x13 inch baking dish, layer half the bread cubes, half the potatoes and half the cheese, then top with the bacon mixture. Repeat layers of bread, potatoes and cheese. Beat eggs; add milk, worcersterhire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over all, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 65-70 minutes or ‘til knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let set 10 minutes before cutting.

Precious good friends! A few years ago, I had surgery for a shoulder replacement. My friend Sue Barnes brought over an ice cream pail of the best sugar cookies and shared the recipe with me! I have gotten so many of my recipes from friends who have generously shared their many recipes with me over the years! Once in awhile I do get adventurous and try new recipes I find in magazines or cookbooks, but the best are from friends - those tried and tested ones! For this recipe, do use shortening. The first time I used butter in this recipe, thinking butter makes it better. That was not the case with this recipe - they were not like Sue’s at all! I called her and she told me that she always uses shortening, like Crisco.Mom’s Angel Cookies: 2 cups white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 cups shortening 2 eggs 2 tsp cream of tarter 2 scant tsp soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla 4 cups flour

Another thing Sue shared with me is that she uses a cookie scoop to dish up her cookies. It looks like a small ice cream scoop and comes in different sizes. I told Pa Lloyd about it and he went out and bought me one! I love it! Cookies all come out the same size and it seems to go so much faster dishing them up! Mine is medium sized so I make the cookies fairly large. Have a great week!

Warm up the kitchen! I like to have the oven going on these cold winter days. It makes the kitchen feel warm and cozy! Today’s recipe comes from my friend Jan Oberg. I like this recipe not only because it’s good but it doesn’t call for cream soups which are salty and full of fat! I know you can buy the healthy choice variety, but that just doesn’t do it! Not for me anyway. I like to serve this chicken with a rice or noodle side dish...a real comfort food!Chicken with Curry Dill Sauce: 2 Tbsp butter or margarine 2 Tbsp all purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt Dash of pepper 1 cup milk 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/2 tsp dill weed 1/4 tsp curry powder 2 chicken breasts 1 Tbsp vegetable oil In a saucepan over medium heat melt butter. Add flour, salt and pepper; stir until smooth. Gradually add milk and bring to a boil. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add mayonnaise, dill and curry; stir until smooth. Set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in oil. Place in a greased shallow baking dish. Pour sauce over chicken. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until meat juices run clear. The days are already getting a little longer! There is hope! Have a great week!

Love those muffins warm out of the oven! I know I gave you a muffin recipe a couple of weeks ago, but muffins are such a comfort food warm out of the oven I just couldn’t resist giving you another! I really do think these are healthy, providing you don’t slather on too much butter! This recipe came from my friend Connie Snyder. It makes a large batch so you can keep them in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks and pop a few in the oven for breakfast, a snack or good with soup too! Plan ahead, the dough needs to refrigerate overnight before baking.Flax seed Muffins: 1-14 oz box of raisin bran 4 cups all purpose flour 1 cup ground flax seed 2-3 cups sugar (depending on how sweet you like your muffins) 5 tsp baking soda 2 tsp salt 4 cups buttermilk 1 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cups dried sweetened cranberries Combine cereal, flour, flax seed, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, mix well. In another bowl combine buttermilk, eggs and oil, whisk well and pour into cereal mixture, stir until just blended. Fold in cranberries. Place in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator, overnight. Do not stir at any time after refrigeration or when preparing to bake. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease muffin cups. Spoon batter into pan about 2/3 full and bake for about 18 min. Makes about 4 dozen. Stay warm and have a great week!

Author

I'm Kathy Lloyd. I grew up on a farm near Elmore, MN and have lived in Fairmont for over 44 years. I have always loved to cook, even when I was very young. I loved to stay with my Aunt Dorothy during my childhood. She was a great cook and used to give me freedom in the kitchen, teaching me along the way. She made recipes from our Norwegian heritage, along with pies, homemade doughnuts, yeast bread and cinnamon rolls.

Marrying a husband with a hearty appetite and raising 3 sons and 1 daughter gave me plenty of hungry appetites to satisfy! I worked as a nurse for 42 years and have been retired for 11 years. Even though I loved my work, I love having time to spend with my grandchildren, to experiment with new recipes and work with my flowers in the summer. Life has been very good to me, blessing me with my loving family and great friends!

I enjoy sharing my love of cooking and recipes with the readers of the Photo Press! (I have had my share of cooking failures over the years!)